many made a public plea to george w. bush not to enact these tax cuts. they said it would woesen the budget deficit decrease quality, and fail to produce economic growth. well what happened? [ bell chimes ] >> stephanie: exactly that. [ ♪ patriotic music ♪ ] >> stephanie: since then the budget deficit has ballooned, the economy has spiraled into the greatest decline since the great depression history has proved that 450 economists were exactly correct. this could push the american economy off of a fiscal cliff, am i missing something here? can it be such a bad thing. not really said the cbo. if congress extents current policy, the debt and deficit will increase slowing the economy and dramatically increasing interest costs. because of the deal congress and the president made last year it be result in across the board budget reductions, still there will be no decreases in social security, medicare and veteran's benefits. defense spending would take a big hit, but because of a windown in afghanistan some military leaders are asking for less than congre